"Christiana, you're here."
The words came out colder than I intended, but that's what it was, wasn't it? Cold. The entire situation. The tension that crackled between us before we even said a word.
I stood by the door, arms crossed, watching her step into the room like a queen entering a foreign court. Her presence filled the space, somehow both regal and distant. She was exactly what I had been told: poised, elegant, controlled. Everything I was not.
She looked at me—those piercing eyes, like she could see through the very walls I had built around myself. It was a strange feeling, one that I couldn't shake. I had expected to be indifferent, yet I found myself strangely aware of her, of every movement she made. Her sharp intake of breath when she saw me only added to the strange intensity of the moment.
"So," she said, her voice cool but steady, "this is how it's going to be."
I nodded, trying to keep my composure. I had already prepared for this—an arranged marriage, a deal. Nothing more. But the reality of it? Seeing her here, face to face, knowing that this wasn't just a business arrangement—it made something stir inside me, something I didn't want to acknowledge.
"You know why you're here, Christiana," I said, stepping toward the desk behind me. "We both have our roles to play. This isn't a choice; it's an obligation."
Her lips parted slightly, but she didn't respond immediately. I could see the flicker of something—anger, frustration, maybe—before it disappeared behind her carefully crafted exterior.
"Obligation," she repeated, as if testing the word. "I suppose that's one way to put it." Her eyes narrowed. "But I'd prefer to think of it as... an arrangement, a strategic alliance. The word 'obligation' sounds a bit too... personal, don't you think?"
I swallowed a laugh, though it was dry and bitter. "Is that how you plan on handling this? By turning it into something you can manage with a spreadsheet?"
Christiana's gaze held mine, unflinching. "If you prefer to see it that way, then yes," she said, her voice laced with quiet defiance. "I'll manage."
I wasn't sure if she was trying to convince me or herself.
"I don't need convincing," I muttered, my tone shifting again. "I'm not the one who needs to be here."
The words slipped out before I could stop them, and I immediately regretted them. The last thing I wanted was for her to think I was the one who needed to justify this marriage, this farce.
Christiana took a slow step toward me, her heels clicking against the polished floor. "You think I'm some naïve woman, Alexander?" she asked, her voice soft but unwavering. "That I'm going to fall in line like some obedient wife? Is that what you expect?"
I held her gaze, and for a moment, I didn't know how to answer. Her question dug under my skin. I wasn't used to being questioned, to being so easily rattled.
"You're a means to an end," I said, almost as if convincing myself. "Nothing more. And you're here because of your father's business, not because of any... romantic notions."
Christiana's lips pressed into a thin line. "Romantic notions? Don't flatter yourself," she replied, her voice quiet but sharp, like a blade that could slice through steel. "I'm here because my family needs this, not because I want it. This is just a business deal, just like you said."
I couldn't help the surge of something dark that twisted inside me. Her calmness, her lack of emotion—it didn't match the fire I had seen in her earlier. There was something under the surface, something I couldn't grasp. Something dangerous.
"You don't need to play the martyr," I said, my voice a little more harsh than I intended. "We're both in this for the same reason, and that's all there is to it."
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The silence between us felt like a weight pressing down, thick and suffocating. I tried to ignore the way she stood there, composed and calm, as though she had already accepted this life. The life that I had already resigned myself to, for the sake of my father's business.
But then she spoke, and her words sent a shock through me.
"You don't even know who I am, do you?" Christiana's voice was soft, almost like a whisper, but it had a bite to it. "You think you have me all figured out. But you're wrong."
I stiffened, my mind racing. What was she talking about?
"What do you mean?" I asked, almost against my will. "You think I need to know you beyond the deal we've made?"
She smiled then, a small, knowing smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You don't. But that doesn't mean I'm just a pawn in your game, Alexander. And trust me, I won't be as easy to control as you think."
Her words sent a chill through me. I had no intention of controlling her—at least, not directly. But now, with the tension building between us, I wondered if this entire thing was more complicated than I had first assumed.
She stepped closer, the gap between us narrowing with each step. "I'm not going to sit quietly in the background and let you dictate every move. Not when we're both going to have to live this lie."
I felt my pulse quicken. "Then what do you propose?" I challenged, my voice low, dangerous. "You think we can both just walk away from this? Leave our families, our obligations behind?"
Christiana's eyes flared, the flicker of emotion finally breaking through. "I'm not asking for your pity, Alexander. I'm asking for the truth. We're both stuck in this, and we both know it. So, what do we do now?"
The intensity of her question hit me harder than I expected. I could feel my walls cracking, just a little. She wasn't like anyone I'd ever met before—strong, sharp, unafraid to call me out. She wasn't scared of me.
And that, more than anything, unsettled me.
"I don't know," I said quietly, my voice suddenly hoarse. "I don't know what we do next."
For a moment, the air between us was charged. The silence was heavy with unsaid words, with things we both wanted to express but couldn't—or wouldn't.
Then, the door creaked open behind us.
Both of us turned toward the interruption, but the figure in the doorway caught us off guard.
Victor Langston stood there, his presence as imposing as ever. His sharp eyes flicked from Christiana to me, and his smirk deepened. "Am I interrupting something?"
The tension that had been building between us snapped instantly, like a wire pulled too tight. The air, once thick with possibilities, was now suffused with uncertainty. And I had the sudden, terrible feeling that everything was about to change.
I didn't know why Victor was here or what he wanted, but I could already feel the weight of his arrival, like a storm rolling in.
Christiana's eyes flickered to me, then back to Victor. A look passed between them—something I couldn't quite interpret.
And just like that, everything we had just talked about felt... irrelevant.
The game was shifting. And I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.
But one thing was clear: nothing would ever be the same after today.